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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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Two Careers

January 21, 2015 4 Comments

Balancing Two Careers | HandsOccupied.com

Photo by Dan Hartley.

Last week I talked about my 2015 plans & goals in an uncharacteristically personal (and long, sorry!) post for me. Dare I do it again? One of my 2015 goals is to open up a little more and stay on top of reader questions and such, so in a first step toward keeping my word, this post is all about how I balance being a Librarian as well as a blogger/knitting designer.

The two questions I get in blog comments and emails, as well as last year’s reader survey, tend to be variations on “what’s it like being a librarian?” and “how do you handle two jobs?” I mean, the short answer to the second question is that I do both part time, sort of. I work 20 hours a week at an urban public library.* And I work most of the rest of the time working as a blogger and designer. That means doing photoshoots, emailing with brands, invoicing, writing blog posts, and designing DIYs and knitting/crochet patterns for magazines, books, etc. But if you’re looking for a more in-depth response, read on.

*I realize it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out which library I work at, but I gotta keep it profesh. I can’t go into too much specific detail about many of my experiences, particularly at my current job. The American Library Association Code of Ethics says:

We protect each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.

This Code is where being a librarian is a bit like being a doctor or lawyer. Think of this as Librarian/patron confidentiality. :) With that in mind, here’s more on what the contemporary librarian does. 

DIY Library Pockets for Lending Your Personal Library or Kids' Play

tutorial

What being a 27-year-old Librarian is like

I work as a Teen Librarian, which means I work with all ages, but I am my library’s “expert” on working with people ages 12-18. I have a master’s degree in Library and Information Science, and years of work as a Library Assistant and Marketing Director on top of now being a Librarian for 2 years. I’ve almost always been the youngest person in my workplace, and at my first master’s-required job, I was the youngest Librarian by 34 years. (PS: That age gap is pretty unusual. My coworkers are currently all under 40.)

The 2015 library world is probably nothing like you’d image it. These days, the field is really competitive and requires a lot of outside professional development in addition to work experience, a positive personality, and the ability to understand people with every possible personal background or lifestyle you can imagine. I’ve worked in privileged communities (and hated it. so. much.), middle sized cities where 75% of the patrons we served were homeless or new Americans, and in a library branch located on a gang boundary (most favorite job ever by a landslide). Part of why I’ve been consistently employed is because I’m willing and able to work part time and have my master’s. But then I feel bad because it’s actually problematic for all the other young librarians in the field who are working PT because it’s what’s available, but paying off all their school debt without enough money.

A Beautiful Day to Read by Kids at the Library | HandsOccupied.com This happened IRL at my work. via instagram

I could probably write an entire book about all of the interesting, heartwarming or bizarre things I’ve experienced in just 5 years in this field, but this isn’t a librarian blog. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll write a memoir with stories about the kind gangbangers, or the young army wife who needed someone to teach her how to check the news for stories about the Middle East. Or the retiree who walked to the library to do puzzles for 8 hours a day three days a week. She would get angry when we put out a puzzle completed too recently, and devised her own system for marking puzzles as recently completed, by the way! :)

The thing about this job that people don’t realize is that I have been blessed with so many beautiful, crazy, heartwarming, hilarious, and fascinating experiences because of it. When it comes down to it, my job, despite what anyone might think libraries are and do in 2015, is just to do my best to help people. The degree taught me how to handle the management aspects of libraries and how to effectively answer in-depth or academic questions, but being on the ground in the job is one of the most important, life-changing experiences I’ll ever have. If you think you don’t know what the world is really like, consider a job at a public library. Your eyes will be opened and your heart will be touched if you’re capable of even a modest amount of empathy.

Are these good reasons to do this job? I think so. It’s not for everyone, but I have a hard time seeing myself doing anything else with my non-bloggy/knitty time.

Heidi Knitting | HandsOccupied.com

And the job you’re all much more familiar with: this one!

This. This blog. These patterns (and others) are my other job. I’ve tended to view this as less of a job in the past, but it’s just as valid as being a Librarian, albeit less traditional. This gig is all about creativity and self teaching, but what both of my careers have in common is that they help people. At the library, I help people face to face and I sometimes help people with tremendous hurdles in front of them. People whose lives can be for-real changed by being introduced to a language learning or job hunting tool. Or even to a free email account! But through Hands Occupied I get to help people learn more about what I’m most passionate about.

Balancing Two Careers | HandsOccupied.com

working on a mini harry potter sweater pattern at Pitchfork last summer, via instagram

You heard me. I am, in fact, more passionate about my creative career than my bookish one. It’s taken me years and years to admit it, and then decide that’s okay. When you work with the public and get to help people and are good at it, but realize it’s not necessarily what you need to be doing with your whole life and nights and weekends and energy, you feel kind of like a dick. It’s feeling like you should apologize that you don’t have a limitless well of empathy and interpersonal energy to spend on improving the world. (I wonder if social workers and teachers in particular deal with this too?) For the longest time I was telling myself I was working part time because that was the job that was available (see above note on the problematic part-time-with-a-master’s thing). And I enjoyed blogging, which led to making some money to help assuage my guilt about contributing less money to my household. I also loved it because I was learning about web design, photography, designing DIYs and patterns other crafters could successfully use, etc.

But then I realized there were full time jobs in my field I could probably get – and dun dun DUN! I didn’t want them. Being confronted with how much I’d have to give up if I worked full time as a librarian was a big reality check. It’s funny that when I was busy making plans about how to make my full time library career happen, my business grew to a point where I loved it and didn’t want to give it up. I love the empowering feeling of knowing I have monetized my passion in a way that enables me to still love it and justify getting to spend so much time on it. None of this means I want to stop being a librarian though, either. I love that too, but in a different way. And between the two careers, I’m able to cobble enough together to feel like I’m contributing to my household without feeling like some kind of kept woman. Having two jobs requires a lot of compartmentalizing and definitely working more than 40 hours a week, but I don’t think I’d have it any other way. At least for now! :)

Balancing Two Careers | HandsOccupied.com

Storm really needed some attention when I was blogging one night. via instagram

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: ask me anything, design work, Knitting, librarian, life work balance, lifestyle

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Heidi O

    January 21, 2015 at 1:23 pm

    Thank you for sharing more of your life with us. I have been following your blog for a while and very much appreciate your patterns and info on the yarn arts. I worked in my university library while attending college many, many years ago. I am sure it is much, much different now. ;)

    Reply
  2. Joan Trautwein

    January 22, 2015 at 3:28 pm

    Your blog is interesting, fun to read, informative and extremely helpful. Your tutorials are terrific and your ideas are inspiring. You seem to be a very organized and thoughtful person that enjoys what you do, so please keep doing it your way, I like it very much. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      January 22, 2015 at 7:09 pm

      Aww, thank you, Joan! I really appreciate that.

      Reply
  3. Denise

    January 22, 2015 at 3:56 pm

    I just started following your blog. I love it and totally relate to your work and contributing dilemma. I have my Masters in Education and I love teaching but currently I teach knitting through volunteer gigs. I receive so many rewards from it and will probably never give it up.

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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handsoccupied

Helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010
🧶 Really into intarsia
Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop the latest patterns ⤵️

Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts
At long last! I can share the Spiral Hill Sweater At long last! I can share the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest, my contribution to the new book Disney Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas: The Official Knitting Guide to Halloween Town and Christmas Town, out now! 🎃💀 
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I’m hosting a knit along (KAL) October 1-29 for anyone who’d like to knit this vest along with a group & learn a little about intarsia while we’re at it. I’ve got weekly tutorials planned to help you knit this worsted weight sweater vest, and there’s a prize package giveaway at the end for KAL participants too. Details are on my site - you know where to find the 🔗 I think. 😉
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Book by @tanisknits 
Publisher @insighteditions 
Yarn @brooklyntweed Imbue 
Find it wherever fine books are sold. 
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#handsoccupied #nightmarebeforechristmas #intarsia #sweatervest #knittingpattern #knittingbook #spiralhill #knitting_inspiration #knitting
Since there was some interest in stills of my WIPs Since there was some interest in stills of my WIPs closet after this weekend’s quick tutorial, here are few. ✂️ The tutorial is one post back in my feed as a video.
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As you can see, I didn’t worry about the wire hangers all being perfectly uniform, but it doesn’t matter to me. Also, this closet holds a lot! Despite that, it is already at capacity. Since the hanging bags don’t appear to be recyclable, I want to reuse them as long as possible. Who knows, maybe this will be a way to limit my WIPs? 😅
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P.s. In the third photo you can see how I use this system to store the original swatches, scraps, yarn ball bands, & notes from a design project all together. 
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#handsoccupied #wips #craftstorage #yarnstorage #yarncrafts #knitting_inspiration #craftstudio #craftroom #craftcloset
How to convert a closet into WIPs storage with jus How to convert a closet into WIPs storage with just a few supplies ✂️
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When I was a librarian, we would use these hanging bags to circulate books with audiobook CDs. They came to mind when I wanted to develop a filing cabinet-like system for my differently-sized WIPs. To fit in my studio closet, a standard bedroom closet, they just needed custom hangers. 🤙🏻 
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HOW TO MAKE THE HANGERS
1. Carefully cut approx. a 9” (23 cm) length of flexible 3 mm aluminum wire.
2. Near the end of a large knitting needle or dowel, wrap the wire around it as you would a twist tie. 
3. Bend the other end into a hook shape, perpendicular to the circle shape you just created. 
4. Hang like a hanger in a closet, as shown. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadelife #knitting_inspiration #craftcloset #craftroom #craftroomorganization #craftroomstorage #craftroomdecor #crocheter #latchhook #knittersofinstagram #wip #wips #hangingstorage
It’s time for the monthly review and giveaway! T It’s time for the monthly review and giveaway! This go around, get to know two new sister yarns from @manosyarnsusa, Marla and Sami, and enter to win a skein of each to try for yourself. 
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What makes these yarns sisters is that, while dyed differently, they’re the same weight and come in intentionally coordinating color palettes. For my review, I opted for a sky-inspired combo of Sami in Natural and Marla in Nube. 🌧️ 
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Check out the full review & enter the giveaway at the link in my bio. 
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#handsoccupied #yarnreview #manosdeluruguay #knitting_inspire #crochet #yarngiveaway #knitters #yarn #crochetersofinstagram
If only knitting a whole project took 39 seconds… 😮‍💨 
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In this video, you can see how the Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern knits up - two flat panels, one with intarsia, both are blocked, and then they’re seamed. Find the pattern on @hi.ravelry & my website, just search Intarsia Flower Pillow. 🌸 
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P.S. I’m really smiling in this video while seaming the pillow, so I guess I’m proving last week’s claim that I truly enjoy that sometimes-dreaded task. 😆🫣
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